NINTH ANNUAL REPORT. 



205 



THE APTERYX 

 From a mounted specimen in the American Museum of Xatural History. 



The wings are so tiny that tliey are completely concealed by the 

 body plumage. Its feet and legs are stout, and it has four toes. 

 The bill is long and slender, and, strange to say, the nostrils, 

 instead of being at the base of the bill, as in other birds, are 

 placed near its tip, the nasal cavity running up the full length of 

 the bill, and even filling up the space between the eyes. 



As a rule, those creatures which excel in powers of scent have 

 correspondingly deficient eyesight, as is tlu' case in dogs and 

 wolves. In birds, with but one excei)lion. iIk- rc\erse is true, 

 their eyes being greatly developed, while their nostrils are small. 

 The exception is the Apteryx, which is one of the few birds which 

 finds its prey by scent instead of sight. 'J'his bird is noclurnal in 

 its habits, and its principal food consists of earth-worms. ( )bvi- 

 ously, eyes would be of little assistance in obtaining worms. The 

 sense of smell is of greatest service, aided to a certain extent In 

 touch. Tile latter sense operates througli a numl)er of l<Mig. hair- 

 like feelers which grow from different portions of the head and 

 sometimes reach a length of six inches — analogous, but not 

 homologous, to the whiskers of a cat. 



